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Melissa Leong Invites marie claire Lifestyle Into Her New Melbourne Home

The new issue of marie claire Lifestyle goes on sale today
Melissa Leong on the cover of marie claire Lifestyle
Melissa Leong on the cover of marie claire Lifestyle. Photography by Brett Brogan.

If walls could talk, Melissa Leong’s 1915 Edwardian terrace would tell the esteemed writer, food critic and television host: you’ve earned this.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t sit in my house and tell myself, ‘You did this – you made it for yourself,’” says Leong, who invited marie claire Lifestyle into her eclectic sanctuary in Melbourne’s inner city for an exclusive cover shoot. “I never dreamt that I could create a situation where this is my reality.”

With an impressive roster of freelance gigs under her belt (including an in-conversation with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver at the Sydney Opera House late last year, hosting UFC Fight Week in January, and a starring role in SBS documentary The Hospital: In the Deep End in June), as well as the hotly-anticipated return of her hit show MasterChef: Dessert Masters later this year, Leong deserves to have her cake and eat it too.

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Melissa Leong at home in Melbourne
Photographer: Brett Brogan

So, on a sleepy corner in Melbourne’s leafy Carlton North, she carved out her own indulgent slice.

The brief was simple: “It needed to be my Barbie dream starter home,” explains Leong.

“I purchased the house in mid-2021. It was a very strange period of time. We were all seeking that little bubble of protection. I was going through a divorce [from former chef Joe Jones] and so I really wanted to find a place that felt like a protective cocoon. I wanted it to be private, quiet and a beautiful place that could be just mine and that I would feel safe in.”

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In our brand new issue of marie claire Lifestyle, the talented multi-hyphenate shares why she didn’t want her home to be an entertainer’s house, as well as her insiders guide to Melbourne’s food and fashion scene.

Melissa Leong's shoe collection
Photographer: Brett Brogan
Melissa Leong at home in Melbourne
Photographer: Brett Brogan

Pick up a copy of marie claire Lifestyle in stores on online now

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